5 Banquet at the manor (III)
"Greetings Sir Qiu!" Several families of lower noble standing, greeted the man who nodded in response.
They then gifted the man, several chests of silver, gold, precious gems and even herbs that helped in cultivation!
Clearly they did not take this lightly and hoped that the Qiu family would in one way or the other, look at them positively, currying favours was for the future once their family has gotten big enough...
Patriarch Qiu then heard a few feminine giggles and turned to see his son conversing with daughters of other nobles!
"My lord, it would seem as if our son is doing his part well" His wife said with a smile as he nodded and felt a bit envious of his own son.
"Of course, he is my son after all!" He replied but his wife looked unamused.
"Disgusting..." She said as his face darkened immediately.
•••••
"Your Lordship, you are too handsome!" Several girls swooned around him as Xieren felt their hands graze him inappropriately.
But he couldn't do anything as he didn't want to ruin the mood of the party...
"My Lord, you are a very powerful cultivator... if only I could marry a strong man like you..." A girl said as Xieren groaned internally.
'Don't make it so obvious!' He thought but still kept his smile and turned to another girl.
"This lady, you are very pretty" He said and held her hand gently.
The noble girl he went after wasn't ugly by any means, she was a well known beauty of high standing.
Eventhough she was a very beautiful woman in his eyes, he had seen and lived his whole life with someone who was a goddess in human form. So, Xieren could hold himself well and not get any unnecessary thoughts...
"M-My Lord!" She looked down shyly as Xieren sighed sadly inside.
She was a very beautiful woman but sadly, he was not into weak women, those that have talent in cultivation but do not utilise it...
It was as if she wasn't even trying. Women like her would only end up being liabilities... atleast for him that is.
But that did not mean he would not have some fun with the ladies around him, however it would be nothing too serious...
"Say, aren't your hands very beautiful?" He asked her and slowly inched towards her, snaking his arm around her waist and holding her close to him.
This action made several people of his generation to seeth in jealousy and anger, Xieren could not help but let out a tiny smirk while the girl followed him around as if she was his bride to be...
Xieren then went to pick up his disciple who was too shy to come out seeing all the people gathered in the garden.
"My Lord, where are we going?" The lady accompanying him asked shyly.
"We are going to my manor" Xieren replied making her gasp and stop midway.
"T-This... my Lord, I'm not ready..." She mumbled and look down.
Xieren chuckled and held her by the chin.
"I'm not going to do anything to you, Silly. We are going to get my little follower to the party..." He smiled and turned around to leave leaving the girl the register everything that just happened.
The duo then entered Xiao Ling's room.
"My cute disciple, we need to get going now!" He informed Ling who hid behind the maids that giggled.
"Master..." She spoke shyly and came out wearing a beautiful dress.
"Xiao Ling you are too cute!" Xieren shouted excitedly and hugged her tightly.
"Umm... young master..." The head maid brought him back to his senses as Xieren coughed awkwardly and got up.
"Let's go" He said and exited the room silently.
He heard a few snickers coming from the maids and guards and flushed.
'His Lordship is such a gentle soul...' The noble lady looked at Xieren's figure dreamily and followed him quietly...
•••••
Just as Xieren was on his way back, several carriages entered the premises of the Qiu manor, they were surrounded by a special group of soldiers that wore helmets with weird masks.
"The Hōjo clan?!" Several surprised gasps left the audience, they now focused their attention on the family that has just arrived.
"The Sengoku warriors... vicious and cold blooded" Matriarch Qiu spoke softly and her husband nodded and walked over to the front to greet them.
While the Qiu family is of higher standing than the Hōjo family, the two now have a symbolic relationship between one another due to a secret wedding engagement...
"Sir Qiu, the Hōjo clan thanks you for the invitation for this special banquet!" Hōjo Ikki said honestly and turned to his elders that bowed at both him and the Qiu Patriarch and brought several scores of chests.
Inside, were mostly herbs related to cultivation that were rare even within the empire! The Hōjo family seemed to be very serious about the engagement and showed their goodwill.
This was also a symbol of prestige to show off to the other families! If someone had given the host a gift, the other person would give even more to impress the host and to show his or her wealth...
Such was the culture in the Empire, which was probably one of the reasons as to why the Empire is naturally so greedy.
"Hohohohoh!" Duke Qiu laughed merrily, this was why he loved banquets, they just brought in so many resources to strengthen his own clan, their treasury is filled with enough money and cultivation herbs that was second only to the Imperial family, and that too by a very small margin!
Duke Qiu then waved his hand as several of his "Dragon guards" took the chests away to place them in the treasury.
Clearly, he did not take the "Sengoku warriors" showing up at his manor very well and warned the Hōjo family by showing his own forces.
Hōjo Ikki smiled apologetically at the Duke and followed the Qiu Patriarch to the garden where the banquet was being hosted...
At this point, the Yang family too had arrived and had seen what had happened and frowned when the Qiu family gave them no face and just left.
Clearly they were mercilessly ridiculed by all the families and their political standing had gotten worse...
Yang Ning had seen the eldest daughter of the Hōjo clan on her way to the banquet and felt giddy about meeting her again.
•••••
Xieren had arrived and parted ways with the noble lady he was accompanied by. He then stood behind his father who was conversing with the Hōjo clan Patriarch.
Mei was no where to be seen, he couldn't help but still think about his maid who said all that and left him...
"Xieren, Lord Ikki has asked you a question!" Duke Qiu's harsh voice entered his ears as he snapped his head and replied.
"My deepest apologies, Lord Hōjo... If you do not mind, please do repeat your question" He inclined his head as the man laughed.
"No worries young man! I just wanted to ask if you find my daughter attractive" Ikki stated and turned to Akagi who returned the stare.
Xieren raised an eyebrow and glanced at his father who looked away.
"Sir Hōjo, to be honest, I cannot see her face with the veil but I'm sure she is very beautiful and... strong!" He opened his eyes in shock and disbelief.
